Award Nominees Announced for St Kilda Film Festival 2025

Australia’s longest-running short film festival, St Kilda Film Festival (SKFF), has revealed the 2025 award nominees in the running to win more than $40,000 worth of cash and prizes across 14 categories.

Many films have been nominated in multiple categories this year including, The Meaningless Daydreams of Augie & Celeste, nominated in six categories. Directed by Pernell Marsden, this is a tale of two best friends who embark on a high-stakes game of imagination, which takes a twisted turn and threatens to jeopardise their relationship.

Also heavily nominated is Unstoppable, which collected three nominations. Directed by Jack Byrnes and Marcus Porcaro, the film follows a paraplegic ex-defence contractor who must fight tooth and nail when his workplace is invaded by masked intruders’ intent on killing him for the mysterious information they believe is in his possession.

This year SKFF has set new records for number of films screened and received. The Top Short Films Awards are judged by a panel of industry professionals, with the 2025 judging panel including:

Cinematographer Ellery Ryan (Wishful Thinking starring Drew Barrymore)
Filmmaker Rhianna Meltzer (Thor: Ragnarok and Elvis)
Editor Cindy Clarkson (I.Q staring Tim Robbins and Meg Ryan)
Film Programmer Spiro Economopoulos (Moving Story Entertainment)
City of Port Phillip First Peoples Programs Lead Fred Gesha.

The winners of this year’s Best Short Film and Best Documentary will also be eligible for consideration in the OSCARS® Short Film and OSCARS® Documentary Shorts Award categories.

This year’s winners will be announced at the St Kilda Film Festival’s Awards Ceremony on Sunday 15 June – 7.30pm, hosted by Sammy J at the St Kilda Town Hall. The awards ceremony will be followed by the official closing night party.

St Kilda Film Festival 2025 Award Nominees:

Best Youth Short Film – Supported by City of Port Phillip and JMC Academy

Diced Peaches in Light Syrup #10 Can
Fish Fight
Fotoautomat
Free Money
In Human Skin
Mother Tongue
Re-Animated: That One Time I Died and Got to Choose Which Universe I Wanted to be Reincarnated Into
The Knight’s Sky
The Lifeguard
The Thong

Best Original Score – Supported by JBL and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers

Alex Olijnyk – The Meaningless Daydreams of Augie & Celeste
Greg Dombrowski – The Horn
Ethan Hunter – Resonance
Matthew Shaw – Clown

Best Achievement in Sound Post-Production – Supported by Sennheiser and the Australian Screen Sound Guild

Luke O’Loughlin – Bőr
Frank Lipson – The Horn
Wiaan van der Westhuizen – Pliers
Liam Annert & Sean Wilkinson – Unstoppable

Best Achievement in Editing-Supported by Roar Digital and Adobe

Michael Houlahan A.S.E – The Execution
Pernell Marsden – The Meaningless Daydreams of Augie & Celeste
Graeme Pereira & Damian Walshe-Howling – Unspoken
James Ashbolt – Unstoppable

Best Achievement in Screenplay – Supported by Australian Writers’ Guild and Cinema Nova

Maddie Grammatopoulos – Cordelia, Daughter of The Sea
Stefan Raabe – Dear Friend
Gregory Kelly & Pernell Marsden – The Meaningless Daydreams of Augie & Celeste
Kat Dominis & Mariana Rudan & Damian Walshe-Howling – Unspoken

Best Achievement in Indigenous Filmmaking– Supported by CitiPower

Motherhood in the Colony
Ngarridurndeng Kured
Re-imagining Our Futures: birthing
The Truth About the Telegraph

Best Achievement in Cinematography– Sponsored by the Australian Cinematographers Society and Panavision

Andrew Gough – A Thousand Odd Days
Patrick Coe – Die Bully Die
Ryan Bell – RAGE
Adam Howden ACS – Unstoppable

Best Young Actor – Supported by the Melbourne Actors Guild

Deeya Saxena – Clown
Leon Sparrow – Pliers
Alistair Bradman and Gilbert Bradman – RASH
Libby Segal & Frankie Gillespie McKay – The Meaningless Daydreams of Augie & Celeste

Best Actor – Supported by Chameleon Casting